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Some quick NIFE take-aways

BOMR822

Well-Known Member
Some quick takeaways from my NIFE experience. No prior flight experience.

A-Pool. Come prepared for the APIT. Don't stop PT'ing once you arrive to Pensacola. Easy way to avoid a pink sheet. Don't forget to muster. Another easy way to avoid getting a pink sheet. You might get away with not mustering once, but if whoever is taking accountability is having a bad day, you might get one regardless. Swim is not terribly difficult, and is actually kind of fun. The hardest part for me was the holding your breath for the full distance after the tower jump. If you know you have issues with swim, go to the free practice sessions they have to avoid getting a pink sheet and being sent to remedial. Definitely pick up a stash so you don't have to muster. Greenhouse and Post Office are both very chill, STUCON and FM are less so. My wait time was around three months, but this varies a lot.

Academics. Just study. And then study some more. And then even more. So many people get pink sheets and rolled for not studying and failing a test. The information is generally not hard, but there is just a lot of it. Aero was fun and easy. Engines was easy. FRR was fun and slightly more difficult. NAV was stressful, but somehow I only missed two questions. WX is annoying because the curriculum keeps changing, and the powerpoint doesn't match the material, and doesn't prepare you for the test if you don't study both. If you are going to practice and study before classing up I would recommend buying a wiz wheel and printing out NAV and doing all the problems in the book. Ultimately I was a lot more stressed than I needed to be for academics, but that was because I spent all my time studying during it. It is only three weeks, just put your personal life on pause for a few weeks and get the information down. I got a 97% average.

Flying. I absolutely loved flying in the front seat, and genuinely feared for my life in the backseat while the other guy flew a few times. I got Jack Edwards, it was rather chill and the expectations for us were well briefed. You still need to study, but not as hard or as long as you did in academics. Get your EPs, limits, course rules, and maneuvers down, and know what you need to brief before each flight. A lot of people simply stopped studying, and had to keep asking what to do for maneuvers, or had to consult their checklists in flight for descent, before landing, etc. The instructors were very chill, and helped us get ready for the check ride adequately. To be perfectly honest, I never heard of anyone failing the check flight or getting dropped without request in this phase. I loved the Cessna, it was an absolute blast to fly (though mildly terrifying in the backseat when on short final and the landing looks like it is set up to be crap...)

Physio. F*** the helo dunker. JK, it was actually alright, but it definitely wasn't what I'd call fun. I'll be seeing it again in a few years I guess. Woot. Ejection seat trainer and the parachute trainer were both very informative.

Overall: Not as hard as I thought it would be going into it. I don't know the actual attrition rates from NIFE, but I only know of 1 or 2 people who were attrited out of hundreds. Does anyone know the actual rates? I thought the program got me adequately prepared for the next phase. Just put in the time and effort, and care about your job, and you'll do just fine and have a blast in the flying phase. If you have any questions, I'll be happy to answer them. On to Primary.
 

Flash

SEVAL/ECMO
None
Super Moderator
Contributor
Swim is not terribly difficult, and is actually kind of fun. The hardest part for me was the holding your breath for the full distance after the tower jump. If you know you have issues with swim, go to the free practice sessions they have to avoid getting a pink sheet and being sent to remedial.

When did pink sheets for swim become a thing? Back in the old days they just sent you to remedial until you could swim.
 

0621 Hertz

Well-Known Member
When did pink sheets for swim become a thing? Back in the old days they just sent you to remedial until you could swim.

Not sure when exactly (probably the last 10 years or so) but you don't get a pink sheet if you drop from swim on Day 1. I guess someone at CNATRA lost their patience with students.

However every time someone I know went to a PRB with pink sheets from swim I was told they ignore them.
 

Jim123

DD-214 in hand and I'm gonna party like it's 1998
pilot
However every time someone I know went to a PRB with pink sheets from swim I was told they ignore them.
That might actually make those pink sheets a motivational tool to encourage the weak swimmers to practice ahead of time. (Not sure if doctrine would call this "left of boom" or "left of splash glug glug glug.")

One of the many enjoyable things about API was seeing the water survival stuff "click" with those among my classmates who started out uncomfortable in the water, including the ones who joined us by rolling back from a senior class.
 

Griz882

Frightening children with the Griz-O-Copter!
pilot
Contributor
When did pink sheets for swim become a thing? Back in the old days they just sent you to remedial until you could swim.
This begs the question...Why would anyone who can't swim join a "SEA" service? ?
 

Jim123

DD-214 in hand and I'm gonna party like it's 1998
pilot
This begs the question...Why would anyone who can't swim join a "SEA" service? ?
I'm kinda mixed on that one and when I first heard it was actually a thing that non-swimmers do join, it left me scratching my head. It takes guts to join the Navy (or any sea service) when you know you suck at swimming, and it takes guts to ask for help to learn how to swim as an adult. I do think a candid conversation between recruiter and recruit would go a long way to keeping people from getting all the way down to Pensacola and not knowing how to swim, and I'm not trying to shift the blame onto recruiters... I mean go ask about lessons at your local YMCA, ask the lifeguards at the beach or public pool for where to get lessons, ask around at your college athletics if you're a college student, look it up on youtube for self-help videos.

I guess it's embarrassing but it's also like being a fat person at the gym- you might not see it but a lot those people around you respect you for trying to improve. Americans love success stories that involve overcoming challenges.

But... yeah, some people really want to be in the Navy and they won't let an obstacle like not knowing how to swim get in the way. It's weird but it's kinda neat.
 

Birdbrain

Well-Known Member
pilot
I'm kinda mixed on that one and when I first heard it was actually a thing that non-swimmers do join, it left me scratching my head. It takes guts to join the Navy (or any sea service) when you know you suck at swimming, and it takes guts to ask for help to learn how to swim as an adult. I do think a candid conversation between recruiter and recruit would go a long way to keeping people from getting all the way down to Pensacola and not knowing how to swim, and I'm not trying to shift the blame onto recruiters... I mean go ask about lessons at your local YMCA, ask the lifeguards at the beach or public pool for where to get lessons, ask around at your college athletics if you're a college student, look it up on youtube for self-help videos.

I guess it's embarrassing but it's also like being a fat person at the gym- you might not see it but a lot those people around you respect you for trying to improve. Americans love success stories that involve overcoming challenges.

But... yeah, some people really want to be in the Navy and they won't let an obstacle like not knowing how to swim get in the way. It's weird but it's kinda neat.
That's how I did it. I hadn't swam since I was a kid, asked a college swimmer buddy to show me the basics before I left, and practiced over the summer. Still got rolled day 1 because I never tried sidestroke and clearly didn't know how to do it. That was dumb.

Ended up being a good experience that taught me how to swim and be comfortable in the water but looking back I would have gone to the remedial classes in my offtime before classing up and just asked to jump in the pool and get taught.
 
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